1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus capable of switching a program in accordance with a kind of an inspection object, and performing focus adjustment in a relatively short period of time at the time of switching.
2. Description of Related Art
In the case of inspecting whether or not a defect is present in an inspection object, an appearance of the inspection object is imaged with an imaging device, to determine presence or absence of a defect based on the imaged image. In order to determine the presence or absence of the defect properly, the imaged image is required to be clear, and normally, focus adjustment is manually performed to image the inspection object.
In the case of manually performing focus adjustment, focus adjustment needs to be re-performed every time the kind of the inspection object flowing along a manufacturing line changes. In order to avoid such a complicated operation, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-184019 discloses a visual inspection device capable of performing focal point adjustment (focus adjustment) in accordance with a thickness and a height of an inspection target (inspection object). Accordingly, the thickness and the height of the inspection object change with a change in kind thereof, and even when a size of the inspection target in an imaging direction (distance from the imaging device) fluctuates, it is not necessary to manually perform focus adjustment.
However, when the visual inspection device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-184019 is adopted to the image processing sensor provided on the manufacturing line where a wide variety of inspection objects flow, focal point adjustment (focus adjustment) is performed every time the thickness and the height of the inspection target (inspection object) change, which has caused a problem of shortening the life of a focus adjustment mechanism. Naturally, this can be dealt with by changing the kind of the inspection object once in a given period. However, the focus adjustment operation requires a given period of time whether it is performed manually or automatically, thus making it difficult to reduce inspection cycle time.